OUTDOOR

Tales and Trails

If you’re like me, you can’t remember what you had for breakfast, but that won’t stop me from asking you this question: Do you remember what happened on Oct. 14, 1992? I’ll provide a short list. For starters, the Toronto Blue Jays won the American League pennant and the Atlanta Braves won the National League pennant. Gas was $1.13 a gallon. Brett “Hitman” Hart was still celebrating his recent victory over “Nature Boy” Ric Flair for the WWF Heavyweight Title. What else? The very first edition of Outdoor Tales & Trails appeared in the Ellsworth Shopper. Let’s celebrate the 30-year anniversary by quoting Ric Flair: WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

A lot has changed since then, including me. Oh, I’m still handsome, just in a much more “senior” way now. For most of the last 30 years I wrote for the Shopper. Remember the yellow paper that came on Wednesdays and had so many flyers tucked inside that it was as thick as a phone book? A few years ago, for a brief time, I wrote for another local paper until it was bought out by some big company from out east. They dropped me like I was a bad habit. I’m mostly over it, maybe.

I was an unemployed outdoor writer for a short time until the day that I literally ran into Sarah Nigbor’s ovce at the Pierce Coun ty Journal. I was actually out running when I noticed that the Journal ovce was open so I took a break to stop in and introduce myself to Sarah. Turns out, she not only knew who I was but she was also a fan of my writing. To make a short story shorter, she asked if I could come back to meet John McLoone to work out the details and more importantly, find out when could I start. That brings us to the present day. This venture began exactly 30 years ago today. Aside from being married, I’m not sure that I have done anything for a longer period of time. Well, I guess that’s not entirely true because I’ve hunted and fished for as long as I can remember. I know the exact spot where I bagged my first squirrel in the river bluus behind my childhood home. At the time I thought I was a big game hunter but I had no one to share my story with. For the record, it was a huge fox squirrel and my mom cooked it up for me.

Having said that, including everything else for the last 30 years, there is an awesome reason that I have been doing this for so long and that reason is YOU!! You have followed me through three job changes and have remained loyal and supportive. Without you, I’m a rat- ing’s bust. Please accept my sincere thanks for reading yesterday, today, and hopefully many more tomorrows!!

*If you have access to Facebook, log onto Outdoor Tales and Trails with Dave Beck to read the very first column that appeared 30 years ago.

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at [email protected] Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @ thepiercecountyjournal

BY DAVE BECK